Tag Archives: Off-Road

It’s as orange as your Mom and just as capable of getting dirty. The model in question comes from TLCB regular Horcik Designs and is based on the classic Tatra T148 all-wheel-drive truck.

Underneath the minimalist Technic bodywork is a full truck trial remote control drivetrain, with working suspension on all wheels, steering courtesy of a Power Functions Medium motor, and six-wheel-drive which – as any seasoned Technic builder will know – is a really tricky thing to do.

There’s more to see of Horcik’s excellent Technic Tatra on Flickr – click the link above to grab an orange slice.

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The first Gulf War – initiated when moustachioed douchebag Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, defied a UN resolution, and then gassed his own people – saw the US deploy its new ‘High Mobility Multi-purpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV) in large numbers for the first time, as president George Bush Sr. and other world leaders responded to Iraq’s aggressions.

Twelve years later and George Bush Jr. decided to finish what his dad had started, and – for reasons we’re still not sure of – defied a UN resolution and attempted to overthrow the Hussein government. There was good reason in 1991, but in 2003? Er… 911? Nope. Weapons of mass destruction? Nope…

Whatever the reason behind Bush Jr.’s invasion, overthrow the Hussein government he did, and the Humvee played as pivotal a role in the outcome as it did in the liberation of Kuwait a decade or so earlier.

This superb 10-wide recreation of the iconic military vehicle comes from previous bloggee Manuel Cara, who has recreated the desert-spec Humvee in quite astonishing detail. All doors, the roof hatch and the tailgate open, and if anything what’s underneath is even more detailed than what you can see here.

You can head over to Manuel’s photostream via the link above for the complete gallery of images, and if you’re wondering what’s become of the Humvee another decade-and-a-half on from Iraq Round 2, well the old stalwart is finally due for replacement.

The Humvee is still doing service in Iraq though, as the U.S. left many units behind upon their withdrawal from the country to equip the new non-Saddam-run Iraqi military, and because shipping them back to the U.S would have been really expensive.

However the recent rise of Islamic State – due in no small part to the vacuum left as Saddam Hussein was removed from power – has meant that many Humvees have fallen into the wrong hands. There’s an irony there that would be funny if it wasn’t so tragic.

Wherever it’s from we like it (which is a good metaphor for people), and with Power Functions remote control drive and steering, plus working suspension, Horcik’s model boasts some decent technical functions too.

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We’re going to have a very fat (and possibly very sick) Elf later today…

These three excellent Technic Mercedes-Benz Unimog 437s were found by one Elf, as they all come from previous bloggee Thirdwigg. Designed as a modular build, Thirdwigg’s ‘mogs can be built as long or short wheelbase, standard or doka cab, with manual features or Power Functions remote control, and with a variety of tipper bed options.

Each version also features four-wheel-drive linked to an inline-4 engine, working steering, and front and rear suspension.

There much more to see of the various ways in which Thirdwigg’s brilliantly-engineered Unimog 437 can be built at the Eurobricks discussion forum, you can find more images of the design on both Brickshelf and Flickr, and you can watch a video of the various ‘mogs on YouTube by clicking here, whilst we hand out three meal tokens to the world’s luckiest Elf.

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Last time we mentioned something about a vehicle belonging to Russia’s government forces we got in trouble (despite having been positive in the past too) so today there’ll be no backstory. However none is needed, because this MAZ537 8×8 soviet military truck is incredible.

Built by gkurkowski of Brickshelf this 3.3kg behemoth is one of the most beautifully recreated replica trucks that we’ve ever featured. With superb detailing both externally and inside, gkurkowski’s MAZ is certainly befitting of the ‘Model Team’ category here at TLCB. However, this creation is much more than a static display piece…

Inside that brilliant body is a full Power Functions remote control drivetrain with power going to all eight wheels shod in LEGO’s huge 42054 Claas Xerion tyres. Each of the four axles is suspended and the first two offer four-wheel-steering powered by a Medium Motor. There’s also a V12 piston engine, LED headlights, a suspended fifth wheel/trailer hitch and opening everything.

It’s an incredible build and one that definitely deserves a closer look. A full gallery of over thirty images is available to view on Brickshelf, including CAD drawings of the drivetrain and WIP shots, plus you watch gkurkowski’s amazing MAZ537 8×8 in action courtesy of the video below.

It’s been a while since the last ‘Mad Max – Fury Road’ vehicle featured here at The Lego Car Blog. This means the Elves haven’t watched the movie in ages, seeing as they’re only allowed to do so if they find an appropriate creation.

Cue much Elven celebration today therefore, when one of their number returned to the office with this, a rather excellent recreation of the Gigahorse stacked Cadillac from Flickr’s hachiroku24.

Not only has hachiroku replicated the movie car brilliantly, he’s also made instructions available so you can build one for yourself. Head over to his photostream via the link above for more.

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It’s seems like only the other day that Brickshelf’s marthart appeared here at The Lego Car Blog with a huge remote control Technic creation. That’s because it was, but his second upload of the week is just as worthy of a posting here.

This is Mammoet Racing’s 2018 Renualt Dakar truck, yup – the same company that made this, and it’s brilliant. With remote control all-wheel-drive and steering, working suspension, a V8 engine, opening panels, and a tilting cab, marthart‘s Technic recreation of the two-stage-winning truck is packed with working functions and there’s much more to see at the Brickshelf gallery – Click the link above to take a closer look.

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We like big yellow tractors here at The Lego Car Blog, seeing as we’re basically overgrown children, and that’s exactly what we have for you today!

The slab of yellow magnificence pictured here is a JCB Fastrac 4220, as built by previous bloggee Technic BOOM. Like the real machine BOOM’s Technic Fastrac features all-wheel-drive and all-wheel steering, operable remotely via LEGO’s Power Functions system. There are eight motors in total, powering the aforementioned drive and steering, a high/low gearbox, and the two raising/lowering hitches mounted front and rear, the latter of which includes a power-take-off too.

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As any builder of remote control Technic creations will know, LEGO drivetrain components – especially u-joints, axle connections and gears – are often not up to the job of delivering the torque from LEGO’s excellent Power Functions motors to where it needs to go.

Gears shearing in half and u-joints snapping are problems that regularly occur, particularly if third-party battery and software products such as SBrick or BuWizz have been used to increase power far beyond what LEGO envisaged. We’ve even experienced this here at TLCB Towers, as an ‘accidental’ collision between an RC creation and a TLCB Elf can push a part past its breaking-point.

However Eurobricks’ Kevin Moo has designed a cunning solution to the problem, with his Toyota Tundra-esque 4×4 pick-up truck utilising two driveshafts for each of the live-axle suspended differentials.

Power is sent down both sets of components, effectively halving the load on each gear, u-joint and axle connection, and therefore the likelihood of a part failure. It’s an ingenious yet simple solution and one that enables Lego models to take more power, more reliably – watch truck trial builders use this design and then double the number of motors to end up right back where they started!

Kevin’s dual-driveshaft pick-up is also a thoroughly excellent model in addition to its clever driveline. Power to all four wheels comes from a single XL Motor with a Servo for steering, there’s superb live-axle suspension front and rear, opening doors, hood, tailgate and load cover, LED lights, and a realistically detailed body too.

There’s much more to see of Kevin’s brilliant build on Eurobricks via the link above, and you watch how the dual-driveshafts work via the top-quality video below. Take a look whilst we see whether breaking parts in ‘accidental’ collisions with TLCB Elves is a thing of the past (it’s all for science).

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It’s been a while since the last episode of Elf-on-Elf violence (even Elven behaviour during this year’s FIFA World Cup even proved uneventful, unlike the last one), however today we’re back to earth with a bump, thanks to this (admittedly incredible) fully remote controlled Dakar rally truck by Lucio Switch.

Driven by four XL motors with a Servo for steering, plus live-axle suspension, pneumatically controlled differential locks powered by an on-board compressor, LED lights and SBrick bluetooth control, Lucio’s Dakar truck is an engineering masterpiece. All of that lot makes it supremely capable off-road, where it can slowly climb over almost anything. Elves included.

As is the way with heavy remote control Technic models Lucio’s truck is pretty slow, and certainly no match for a fleeing Elf. But if a trap of sticky-side-up parcel tape has been laid by one of the little scumbags, the truck’s slow speed (but massive weight) are – if anything – advantageous to a good smushing.

So cunning was this inventive new use for sticky tape that we almost respect the Elf that did it. Almost. Because not only did we have to collect some thoroughly smushed Elves, they had to be pulled off the parcel tape too, which was not appreciated by them one bit.

We’re now going to look into a more secure stationary storage solution whilst you can check out all of the superb images of Lucio’s amazing creation on Flickr, plus you can join the discussion and watch the truck in action via the Eurobricks forum.

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This is an UMM Alter II, and it’s surely one of the ugliest vehicles ever made. Based on a design bought from France and powered (mostly) by Peugeot engines, the UMM was built in Portugal from the mid-’80s until the mid-’90s mainly for military and utilities use, and it found around 10,000 buyers around the Mediterranean during its production run. A capable off-roader, there’s actually an avid following of the UMM amongst 4×4 enthusiasts despite it looks, so this marvellous mini-figure scale recreation by Flickr’s Pixel Fox is sure to please. Head over to Flickr via the link to see more.

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Land Rover may be most famous for the Defender, but it’s this car that ensured the brand’s survival. Launched in 1989 in three and five door body styles, and with 4-cylinder petrol, 4-cylinder diesel, and a V8 engine options, the Discovery took the fight to the Japanese brands dominating the mid-size SUV market. It worked too, and the design stayed in production for almost a decade.

This 6-wide recreation of the Series 1 Discovery comes from TLCB favourite Pixel Fox, and he’s done a magnificent job replicating the early-’90s off-roader in Camel Trophy spec. The lions appear to like the look of it too, or could that be the delicious mini-figures they’re more interested in? Head over to Pixel’s photostream to find out, and you can hear the today’s title track by clicking here (and don’t pretend you don’t like it…)

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This is a Tatra T-813 8×8 Kolos, and it’s (probably) the best off-road truck in the world. Well this isn’t obviously, it’s much too small, but it is (probably) the best Lego recreation of the best off-road truck in the world.

Built by Technic engineering legend Sariel, this Model Team-on-the-outside, Technic-on-the-inside marvel squeezes all of Tatra’s real-world off-roading cleverness into the smallest possible package, plus full remote control drive and steering, LED lights, and a V12 piston engine which seems to be mounted where the driver should be.

We’re fast-forwarding forty years from our previous post to bring you another sort of truck, which is… er, at the other end of the class spectrum. Built by TLCB favourite Pixel Fox, this mid-’70s Chevrolet C/K pick-up shows us there’s nothing more highbrow than getting drunk in a swamp and blowing stuff up. Join the fun on Flickr at the link above.

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The school run around The Lego Car Blog Towers is getting ridiculous. A sea of Land Rover, Volvo, Mercedes and Audi SUVs, you’d think the school gates were on the top of a mountain pass, not the middle of suburbia. Still, nothing but the best for little Alicia and Noah.

With the current race to the bottom of the automotive barrel it surely won’t be long before vehicles like these start turning up ensure that children can be safely transported to their colouring lessons. Which we’re all for of course – if it means the bloody Audi Q7 is no longer top dog on the school run.

First up to do battle at the school gates is the model above, a wonderful post-apocalyptic truck by TLCB newcomer Versteinert MOC. With a gun on the roof, knight’s shields for a front bumper, and machetes for front fenders, not even a Mercedes G-Wagon will intimidate this school-run Mom.

Today’s second creation eschews offensive weaponry for defensive protection. Faber Madragore‘s ‘racing buggy’ includes a full roll cage and nudge bar, plus working steering and pendular suspension, all at mini-figure scale. There’s no room for Noah’s backpack – or even for him – but Safety First!

There more to see of each build on Flickr. Join the school run madness via the links above!